Inaugural ArtsFest at Butler University, Apr. 18-28

A riot. A crushed uprising. A repressive regime. A human-rights movement. A new definition of dance, and a new language in music. Butler ArtsFest—eight days of music, theater, dance and art by Butler students and well-known Indianapolis professional groups—will showcase all that and more in an event centered around the theme of revolution.

From April 18-28 on campus—mostly at Butler University’s new Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts—festivalgoers will be able to see more than 40 performances and other events, including former Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conductor Raymond Leppard leading the Butler Symphony Orchestra, Butler Ballet performing Paul Taylor’s version of The Rite of Spring, Butler Theatre performing Lunar Revolution 2.0, a piece created by the Butler Theatre Department and Grammy Award-nominated percussionist Bobby Sanabria performing with the Butler Big Band.

“The impetus for Butler ArtsFest was to have Jordan College make an impact on the community, actively reaching out, actively bringing people onto campus,” said Ronald Caltabiano, dean of Butler’s Jordan College of the Arts. “It is also a way to bring together the four arts on campus – music, dance, theater and art – and find ways in which we can collaborate and share multiple views of particular ideas.”

Perhaps built on memories of the music-centered Romantic Festival that Jordan College put on from the late 1960s, the ArtsFest will bring together all Jordan College arts, plus the American Pianists Association, Dance Kaleidoscope, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, and special guests.

Caltabiano said ArtsFest will have an annual theme. This year, it’s revolution.

“Virtually every event is tied to that theme,” Caltabiano said, “and that gives the public a kaleidoscopic view of elements in history or in art. It’s a reference point. It’s also important for our academic mission since a number of classes are growing up around revolution in politics and in the arts.”

The revolutionary pieces to be performed include:

Paul Taylor’s ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal) with live music—the two-piano version of Stravinksy’s The Rite of Spring, a piece that’s part of the repertoire now but was considered so revolutionary when it premiered in 1912 that audience members rioted.

The futuristic Prague 1968, written to memorialize the crushed Prague Spring movement in Czechoslovakia.

Frederic Rzewski’s monumental The People United Will Never Be Defeated, written as a tribute to the Chilean people struggling against a new, repressive regime.

SEVEN: Journeys, monologues from the 2006 play written by seven female playwrights about seven women who led human rights movements in their countries.

Ultimately, Caltabiano would like to see Butler ArtsFest grow into something resembling the annual Spoleto festival in Charleston, S.C., which runs for more than two weeks each spring and attracts audiences from all over the country.

“Over time,” he said, “I hope this brings a significant amount of attention to the arts at Butler and has a positive impact on Indianapolis as a cultural center.”

1 p.m. Spoken Word – “Outspoken: Poetry and Spoken Word Performances by Shortridge High School Students and their Butler Mentors” (Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall). Free. Coordinated by Susan Sutherlin, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

8 p.m. American Pianists Association – APA Fellows Thomas Rosenkranz and Michael Sheppard perform Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated and Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (Schrott Center). $25/$7.50

2 p.m. Lecture – “The Poetics and Politics of Change: Poems and Stories about Personal and Public Transformations from the Butler MFA in Creative Writing” (Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall). Free. Coordinated by Andrew Levy, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.